RAMALLAH — Prime Minister Stephen Harper came to the West Bank Monday bearing gifts for the region’s Palestinians as part of a plan to foster “peace and stability.”

After meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Harper announced that Canada will provide $66 million to the West Bank and Gaza.

“Canada looks forward to a bright future for all Palestinians, one in which security and prosperity are enjoyed in a viable and democratic Palestinian state,” Harper said in a prepared statement.

“The support we are providing today will advance those goals by furthering the peace process, generating jobs and economic growth through private sector partnerships, and helping to further advance security and justice sector reforms.”

However, the government was vague on exactly how the money will be spent, and there were indications that the funds might actually be a decrease from previous years’ assistance. Over the past several years, Canada provided a total of $300 million to the Palestinians. This latest $66 million in funding, on top of $30 million announced last year, will be stretched out over three to five years.

The announcement came as the United States is leading a round of peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Since taking office in 2006, Harper has adopted a strong stance in favor of Israel, and critics have accused him of abandoning Canada’s traditional position as an honest broker.

But Harper told journalists at a news conference with Abbas that his government has formulated a Middle East policy on its own, without outside influence.

“Canada is a strong supporter of the peace process,” he said.

“Our position is not an Israeli position or a Palestinian position. It is a Canadian position of principle supported by the overwhelming majority of Canadians.”

“While Canada has its views, a settlement ultimately has to be decided through negotiations between the two parties.”

Among the controversial issues at play in the Middle East is whether Israel should be proceeding with the construction of more apartments and homes in West Bank settlements during the peace talks.

Critics complain this is a show of bad faith because the land on which those settlements are based should be up for negotiation with Palestinians. Israeli rejects that criticism and complains of a double-standard, saying that Palestinians — in places such as textbooks for schoolchildren — are inciting further violence and terrorism against Israelis.

Canada’s foreign affairs department, on its website, has declared the settlements to be illegal. Harper’s spokesman and his senior ministers have merely said “unilateral action” — they have refused to speak specifically about the settlements — is “not helpful.”

On Monday, Harper was asked if he personally views existing and future Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal.

“Any attempt to have me, while present in the Middle East, single out the state of Israel for criticism, I will not do,” he said.

“I have been very clear on that in the past. The positions of the government on the specific matters you mention are well known. They are public, they are known to both parties.”

Earlier in the day, Harper visited Bethlehem and went to the Church of the Nativity, an ancient church built on the grotto many believe is the birthplace of Jesus Christ.

Later Monday, after his visit to the West Bank, Harper was scheduled to deliver a speech to Israeli legislators, in the Knesset, in Jerusalem.

According to a background document released by the prime minister’s office, the latest round of Canadian support for Palestinians will be directed towards “training and technical assistance that will help the Palestinian people strengthen their institutions and the rule of law.”

“It will also be used to promote economic growth and job creation by helping start-up firms and existing micro, small and mid-sized enterprises improve their competitiveness and access new markets.

“There will also be particular emphasis on encouraging women’s entrepreneurship.”

Harper’s office said that by improving “innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development” in the West Bank and Gaza, more jobs will be created — thereby reducing “Palestinian aid dependency” on the international community.

Harper is in the Middle East for a week-long trip that brings him to Israel, the West Bank and Jordan.

Harper’s government has had a tense relationship with Palestinians in recent years.

In November of 2012, when the UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to provide Palestine “non-member Observer status”, Canada was one of just nine countries to vote against and its foreign affairs minister, John Baird, spoke out forcefully at the UN against the move.

Last week, a leading Palestinian negotiator complained that Canada had become “more Israeli than the Israelis.”

But Abbas spoke diplomatically Monday about Canada, saying he appreciates the money it has given Palestinians and understands that Harper can take any position he wants on the region.

“Canada is a sovereign state and has the right to adopt the position it pleases,” said Abbas “We hope that in future things will change.”

mkennedy@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/Mark_Kennedy_

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